Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 59
CLOVIS — The Curry County Commission received a slate of good news on the financial front Tuesday, with a quick rundown of the final quarter of the 2019-20 fiscal year. County Finance Director Carol Pipes told commissioners in the virtual meeting that the county had $19.635 million between general fund dollars and other investments. Pipes noted gross tax receipts revenues were down 1.8% while property tax revenues were up 7.8%. While some departments had to request increases in the quarter due to salary updates, Pipes s...
CLOVIS — New Mexico restaurant patrons were able to eat indoors again on Monday. For a few hours anyway. Then the state’s Supreme Court ruled otherwise, sending diners back to covered patios or curbside. K-Bob’s Steakhouse in Clovis allowed inside dining briefly, but owner Sid Strebeck said half of the patrons wanted to eat in the patio anyway. By the time staff heard about the Supreme Court ruling, Strebeck said, the dinner rush was pretty much over. On Monday morning, an Ed...
CLOVIS — New Mexico restaurants briefly got the chance Monday to take things inside, until the state Supreme Court said otherwise. On Monday morning, an Eddy County district court judge issued a restraining order for 10 days against the current public health order by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel that forbid indoor restaurant dining and limited service to carry-out and delivery. In his order, District Court Judge Raymond L. Romero noted the state had not responded by an 11 a.m. Monday d... Full story
PORTALES - The 1600 Cherry Street building that has housed Eastern New Mexico University presidents since 1973 will continue in that regard for the foreseeable future. The $650,000 in capital outlay originally allocated by the state has been swept back under Senate Bill 5. The award was one of 80 taken back under the bill totaling $13.9 million, but that total does not account for funds entities have already expended. The bill passed 36-6 in the Senate and 68-1 in the House of...
CLOVIS — Shaves and haircuts may cost a Clovis barber $100. That’s because she’s been cited by state police for violating a public health order brought on by COVID-19. The Hotel Clovis Barber Shop has been closed since May 16. The citation filed Thursday against Jennifer Estes, 50, is the first of that nature filed in either Curry or Roosevelt magistrate courts since public health orders were issued in March shutting down non-essential businesses. Many businesses reopened at limited capacity earlier this month, but the state... Full story
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University Chancellor and Portales campus president Jeff Elwell tendered his resignation from the school, effective April 24. The ENMU board of regents accepted the resignation in an emergency meeting Friday, and named Patrice Caldwell as interim chancellor. Elwell, who joined the university in 2017, announced last month he would resign no later than June 30, 2021. It wasn't immediately clear why the university's 10th president in leaving so soon, and regents declined to give a specific reason d...
CLOVIS — Plains Regional Medical Center Administrator Drew Dostal, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has agreed to regular discussions with The News. Here are parts of a Q&A conducted Monday: Q: Are there any COVID-19 patients in the Clovis hospital? A: No. Q: How many hospital employees have been tested? How many total employees does the hospital have? A: I do not know how many have been tested. There are people who are tested I don’t know about. (Dostal estimated PRMC has 610 employees.) Q: Have any hos... Full story
CLOVIS — In a special meeting scheduled to weigh in on an argument to the New Mexico Supreme Court, the Curry County Commission opposed an appeal by county clerks to hold the June 2 primary as an all-mail election. The state’s highest court was set to begin oral arguments on the matter Tuesday afternoon, and the county resolution that passed by a 4-1 vote is expected to be presented as an exhibit. A group of 27 county clerks across the state asked the court March 30 to allow a mail-in election because of safety and log... Full story
Don’t gather with 10 or more people. Don’t go to the gym. Don’t go to the movies. Don’t eat inside a restaurant. It’s been a lot to keep up with during the COVID-19 pandemic, with state guidelines seemingly changing as soon as everybody put the infrastructure in to obey the previous guidelines. Thursday’s public health order from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham shuttered numerous varieties of businesses — indoor shopping malls, recreational facilities, health clubs, resort spas, athletic facilities, theaters (including mo... Full story
CLOVIS -- Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11, and the NBA decided four minutes later to suspend its season, effective after ongoing games concluded. The next day, the state of New Mexico announced public schools would be closed for three weeks. The day after that, superintendents across the state had to have plans in to the Public Education Department over how they’d operate facilities and still provide some necessary functions to kids during the closure. That left little for Clovis s... Full story
PORTALES — The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team stepped off a bus from Frisco, Texas on Sunday, confident but not convinced they’d have at least one more road trip on the season. Less than an hour later, what energy the Lone Star Conference tournament and the bus trip hadn’t beaten out of them went to celebrating their next trip to Lubbock. The Greyhounds (22-9) discovered Sunday night they had qualified for their second-straight Division II national tournam...
CLOVIS — Charles Nwankwo’s first board of trustees meeting as president at Clovis Community College was a short one, with board members joking they may hold him to that standard. The trustees met for 20 minutes Wednesday morning at the college, approving a variety of routine items with Nwankwo taking over for Interim President Robin Kuykendall at the trustee table. Nwankwo thanked Kuykendall for her service, noting “She left the college in a stronger position, and I am pleased for that.” He reported his initial meeting...
CLOVIS — City voters chose a new direction Tuesday, selecting Mike Morris as their next mayor. Morris, a longtime insurance agency owner in Clovis, took a five-way race with 33.6% of the vote. He had 1,510 votes to finish ahead of Stephen North (1,132) and former city manager and police chief Raymond Mondragon (943). His first meeting with the mayor’s gavel will come when the commission meets April 2. Votes are unofficial until Thursday’s canvassing at the Curry County Commi...
CLOVIS — Voters on Tuesday picked first-time office seeker Mike Morris as their new mayor. But downballot races ran all across the spectrum of experience as Clovis voters retained two incumbents and added two new commissioners who are Clovis High graduates — 29 years apart. Leo Lovett won the most crowded field for a city office in 18 years, taking 28.4% of the vote in a seven-way race for District 1. The seat was won by Ladona Clayton in 2016; after she left Clovis for a job in Dallas, David Robinson accepted an app...
CLOVIS — No one in New Mexico had tested positive for coronavirus, at least as of Saturday. But it was in 28 states and the number of confirmed cases, and deaths, continue to rise around the nation. That’s why the New Mexico Department of Health was on hand Friday in Clovis to update residents on novel coronavirus and how to prepare. “We are encouraging people to take this seriously,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Landen said, “but not to panic.” The Friday afternoon f...
CLOVIS — Mayor David Lansford has argued for months that “putting skin in the game” was eastern New Mexico’s best shot at getting federal funding for a major infrastructure component of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System. Then the City Commission approved a property tax to generate $15 million, on the condition the federal government chips in $40 million and the state $30 million by March 2022. Since then, the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority has received federal and state awards of $15 million and $1 mill...
GRADY — Chisum Rush didn’t dream of playing college baseball a few years ago, but striking out the side for six consecutive innings tends to change things. That happened Rush's sophomore year, he had an even better junior year and now Rush is college-bound after signing a letter of intent with Luna Community College. Rush, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior, said he also looked at Wayland Baptist but decided the two-year route with T.C. Nusser was the best starting point. “We prayed about it and thought about it,” Rush said. ...
By Kevin Wilson EDITOR [email protected] MELROSE - The Melrose and Logan girls basketball teams expect to see each other multiple times between Thursday and the conclusion of the season, and possibly for the Class 1A championship. But for as much as both teams appreciate and respect the other, they're admittedly tired of seeing each other and crossing one potential meeting off the list was a victory in itself. With a big fourth quarter from Karli Webb, the visiting...
CLOVIS - Making the ordinary plays was what got the Melrose Buffaloes an early lead Thursday night. Hot shooting and hustle for extraordinary plays turned it into a blowout. Melrose led by double digits for the final 18 minutes and by as much as 34 in the second half of an 80-53 win, giving the family of Buffs coach Kevin Lackey plenty of time to fill his office with 200 balloons to celebrate that many wins over nine seasons with Dora and Melrose. "That just means I've...
CLOVIS — Wildcat football coach Cal Fullerton started Wednesday’s college signing celebration by noting he tells his players to leave things better than how they found them. With Bryce Cabeldue, Ethan Culiver and Malik Phillips aboard, the Wildcat program went to its first state semifinal round in 10 years. Now they’re looking to make a pair of college football programs better, with Cabeldue joining Division-I Kansas and Culiver and Phillips heading the juco route at New Mexico Military Institute. The three were honored Wedne...
PORTALES — Any given year in New Mexico prep football, a team in Class 4A with one of the best five players in the state is a good bet to win a state championship even with an average supporting cast. Philip Blidi was certainly that for the Portales Rams, but the teammates joining him on signing day Wednesday showed exactly why the Rams not only won the 4A title but dominated the field. Blidi kept to his season-long commitment to Texas Tech, Wromiah Gbassagee and Justin Paden joined Eastern New Mexico and Jalen Allen s...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico’s women’s basketball team is getting set to face the defending national champion, and hopes it can also pick up a win over Angelo State. Sound familiar? It should be, as the script flips on the home sites in Lone Star Conference play this week. The men’s and women’s basketball teams are getting set for a Thursday matchup at Angelo State, followed by a Saturday doubleheader at Lubbock Christian after playing the same squads two weeks ago at Greyhound Arena. For both of the teams, the games rep...
XLOVIS — Bryce Cabeldue couldn’t believe the first time a Division I college was interested in him as a football player, and it’s been the same every time another scholarship offer came the Clovis senior’s way. “It was a huge shock,” Cabeldue said Monday, a day after he committed to the Kansas Jayhawks and coach Les Miles. “I wasn’t really believing it, and honestly it still doesn’t feel real right now.” He’s a week away from the next step in that process, when he can first si...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico’s basketball teams, both coming off frustrating losses to Angelo State Saturday, hope they’ll find some resiliency on the other side of Texas. The Lone Star Conference slate continues for the Greyhounds, who travel for a Thursday doubleheader at Texas A&M-International and another twin bill Saturday at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Both teams are 5-5 in LSC play and 2-4 in division play, but they’re polar opposites in overall records with the women 1...
PORTALES — Of all the New Mexico school districts receiving money from Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grants, Portales Municipal Schools is the only district in 100% compliance with the grant requirements. The benefit may be a bonus of more than 100%, Superintendent Johnnie Cain reported at Monday night’s school board meeting. The SRCL formula grants — normally referred to as the “circle” grants — provide Portales with $450,000 annually to spend on literacy initiatives. The grant is going away after this year, and gr...
